WSC 370 out now

December issue available in stores and online

InsideFootball & identity ~ Barcelona and the Catalonia crisis | Yorkshire’s national team | Who could you play for?Women’s football ~ Racism scandal at the FA | The drive for equal pay

PlusWorld Cup woe for Scotland and Wales | Non league on Merseyside | In defence of Mitre footballs | West Ham’s unhappy home | Where have all the partnerships gone? | Heroes and soured success in Hull | Cartoonist David Squires on Tomas Brolin at Leeds | USA not OK after World Cup exit | Fans focus on foodbanks | Justin Fashanu on film | Football heading for problems | Walton & Hersham forced out | Focus on Bruce Rioch

West Ham United 0 Brighton & Hove Albion 3Hammers struggle to settleSome football paths cross only rarely, making matches like this one something of a collector’s item. Brighton & Hove Albion’s 91st League season is only the eighth – and the third in the last 25 years – in which they have shared the same division as West Ham. This absence of mutual experience perhaps helps explain the lack of edge in the pre-match atmosphere. It also reflects contrasting histories. Buy here to read the full article

Old boys’ networkEni Aluko and the FAWhen Chelsea forward Eni Aluko was asked to take part in a culture review in May 2016 it would have been impossible for her to predict the chaotic chain of events that would follow. Unfortunately, Aluko knew she had a choice: speak up and head into the unknown or continue to bury her concerns and maintain the status quo. It’s damning that when asked to take part in that review by the FA’s technical director Dan Ashworth, the 102-cap striker feared her allegations could jeopardise her international career. Buy here to read the full article

Ball controlMitre footballs“Not a serious ball for a professional game” – that’s what Pep Guardiola called the Mitre used in Manchester City’s League Cup penalty shootout win over Wolves in October. Guardiola felt that the official ball of the competition, which is also used in the English and Scottish Football Leagues, was too light and unpredictable in its movement, criticism which caused some to dismiss his reaction as the hysterics of a prima donna. Yet given his well-documented attention to detail – earlier this season he gave a ballboy tactical advice to return the ball quicker in an effort to increase City’s tempo on the field – it’s plausible that his dislike of Mitre’s ball was more than sour grapes. But for anyone who grew up playing and watching the game in the 1980s and 1990s, Mitre was the football to play with. Buy here to read the full article

Qualities of MerseyPrescot Cables and MarineThe first time Harry Boydell could remember feeling old was when, as a tricky left-winger, he won a Lancashire Combination second-division championship medal with Prescot Cables in 1951-52. He was aged 22 – five years older than the golden-haired winger he was keeping out of the team: Alan A’Court. Buy here to read the full article

AvailabilityWSC is the only nationally available independent football magazine in the UK, and you can get it monthly for a very reasonable £3.50. You should be able to find a copy in your local newsagent, otherwise outlets that stock WSC include WH Smith, mainline train stations plus selected Tescos. If you're having trouble finding the magazine, you could do one of the following: